


National Team High

by acercrea



Category: Football RPF
Genre: Co-Ed, German National Team, High School, Multi, Siblings, girls
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-09
Updated: 2015-08-06
Packaged: 2018-03-11 07:09:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3318587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acercrea/pseuds/acercrea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Coach Löw has just announced something that is going to change the team forever. How is the team going to take it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome Back Bombshell

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is an idea I have been toying around with for a while. Let me know what you think.  
> Disclaimer: I do not own the German National Team, or anything associated with the German National Team. This is just a story

Marco’s POV:

It was my favorite time of year. Practice was starting up again. Most of my team mates hate this time of year, because they have to sacrifice some of their summer holiday to come back early for practice, but I love having the pitch all to ourselves, the smell of the grass and the unspoiled field under foot. It was amazing, and I looked forward to it every year.

I entered the locker room and found it already in a state of semi-chaos. Bastian was running after Poldi, who had taken his shoes; Thomas was very loudly trying to convince Andre that surfing was in fact very difficult and you could injure yourself many different ways while Andre was just looking at him as though he was unconvinced because let’s face it, we had all seen Thomas fall flat on his face just trying to take a penalty kick; Per had taken Özil’s headphones again in an effort to make the very quiet younger man actually talk to people; Christof and Kevin were playing rock, paper, scissors to determine who got the locker they both wanted; Mats and Manu were passing a football back and forth like it was a volleyball; and Benni, Miro and Lahm were all whacking their shin guards against the wall in an effort to make the hard plastic more pliable.

“How was your holiday?” Boateng asked as I sat down on the bench next to him.

“It was great, how about yours?” I questioned in return.

“Also good, but not long enough. We went to visit Gran in Ghana, and my brother looked at some colleges there, but we only got back 3 days ago. So who do you think the new players are going to be?” he asked.

“I don’t know. There were a lot of great players at tryouts, but there are a lot of slots to fill. I am sure Coach is going to surprise us with a couple of guys. He always sees things in players that aren’t immediately apparent. I mean, I saw Thomas for the first time, and all I saw was the wrong build for a footballer and a really clumsy potential liability on the field, but Löw saw a fantastic player who just needed a little encouragement wo reach his potential. If you had told me last year at tryouts that he would be the top scorer for the year I would I would have told you that you were crazy. But Löw always knows,” I replied.

Five minutes later we all emerged onto the field to find Löw waiting for us. “Welcome back, lads. First things first, I want to say that last season was terrific, but we have a long way to go and a lot of work to put in if we want to keep our title. That being said, we have a lot of returning talent, so I am counting on you to be an example to your new teammates. I will give you the reminder I give every year. Being a returning member does not guarantee you a spot in the starting line-up. If a freshman happens to have a hot foot, they will play, end of story, and I trust that you would not be here if you had a problem with that. I am going to rely on you to show the new members the ropes. If you follow me, we will join the new guys,” Löw ordered, walking off toward the training pitch.

When we got there, we discovered a bunch of guys were running drills with the assistant coaches. Löw blew his whistle and everyone stopped what they were doing and ran over to join us.

“There will be plenty of time for introductions later, because I do have one more bit of information before we can start practice. The rules for our league have changed and there is a new requirement for the team. There are going to be four more players on the team this year, because of this new rule. I am warning you right now that I tried out almost a hundred players for the new requirements, and believe I have found the best players to fit with our team. Anyone who disagrees with me will be free to leave the team,” he warned us all.

“Coach, what is the new requirement?” Thomas asked, unable to contain his curiosity any longer.

“Well, turn around and you will see, your new teammates just joined us,” Coach pointed behind us.

Walking across the field we saw 4 girls in full kit.

“The league is now co-ed,” Löw informed us as our jaws dropped open.


	2. Let's Hear it for the Girls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own anything related to the German National Football Team. This is just a story.

Nicola’s POV:

I was sitting on the bench in the locker room, lacing up my cleats, lost in my thoughts when someone broke me out of my reverie by nudging me in the shoulder. “Penny for your thoughts,” my best friend offered, holding up a coin.

“I know they have no choice in the matter as far as us being on the team goes, but do you think they will accept us on the team, Lina? We know we are good enough to play with any guy, but they may not give us a chance to prove it. And that is a quarter,” I pointed out with a laugh, taking the coin from her.

“It is the only coin I had, you can owe me thoughts later. I think they will once they see us play. Löw will have to play us no matter what, and we will make them see how good we are. We beat out so many others to get here. Let’s just enjoy it. In 50 years, they will still have to say that we were on the first co-ed squad this school ever saw. Let’s make sure they say good things about this season,” Malina replied.

“You know he is only going to play one of us at a time,” I responded.

“Not if we are better than the boys. Do you remember how many games Thomas played in last year? He was just a freshman, but because he is good he got played over seniors. We may not have seniority, and we may not be guys, but we are great players. That will be enough on this squad, Nikki,” Malina reassured me.

I was about to respond when Sophie stood up and said in a quiet voice, “It is time to head out to the pitch. Coach will be ready for us when we get there.”

“Right you are, Soph. Nikki, Mal, you ready?” Jana asked.

“Let’s go,” I agreed, standing at the same time Malina did.

The guys were already assembled on the pitch as we walked out and we were still out of earshot when Löw pointed at us and all the guys turned to look. I felt Sophie freeze up next to me at finding herself center of attention, so I put my hand on her lower back as Jana grabbed her hand and we coaxed her gently forward, as I promised her under my breath, “Don’t worry, Soph, we are right here. We got your back.”

The painfully shy girl started walking forward again and within a few steps we were finally close enough to hear Sami say, “But coach, can they keep up with us? I mean they are girls. And one of them is tiny, I would guess no taller than 155 cm. Do they really expect us to be competitive with girls on the team?”

“United front,” Malina whispered, taking my hand to keep me from rushing forward to confront Khidera. “We will beat them on the field and earn our place here. That was a low blow, him bringing up your height, but look at Löw, he is just as mad as you are. It will be more useful for us right now to present a united front and show them that even if they don’t accept us, we are a team all on our own. And we have got your back.”

“Anyone else feel this way?” Löw asked as we continued to make our way over. No one said anything, so he continued, “Great. Khidera, laps. Everyone else, I want to remind you that these are your new teammates if you want to compete this year. Anyone who has a problem with it can either hold their tongue or leave. Do I make myself clear? Great. Now for introductions.”

Löw was cut off by Thomas, who called out suddenly, “Nikki?”

“Hi Thomas,” I greeted him.

“Mr. Müller, you know how I feel about interruptions. Now, as I was saying, this is Jana Berg who plays keeper, Sophie Jens defender, Malina Martin forward, and Nicola Müller midfielder. And yes Thomas, your sister is on this squad whether you like it or not and no I am not going to change my mind. Now, we are going to do passing drills to warm up. I want you to split up into pairs, but I have a couple of rules. First you can’t pair up with someone who plays the same major role as you and second all of the girls have to be paired up with a boy. Let’s see how you do, I will reassign as I see fit,” Löw ordered.

I smiled a little bit when I saw Lukas Podolski rush over to Sophie’s side as I started to walk over to Reus, maybe the forward would break her out of her shell a little bit. I was so distracted that I jumped a bit when Thomas suddenly appeared in my path. “We are partners,” he declared, linking his arm through mine.

“Gee, Thomas, I didn’t know you cared so much,” I replied. I was about to decline, but I saw Marco already paired with Mario, so I agreed reluctantly.

We were on our way over to get a ball when we heard Jogi call, “Müllers, I want you to pair up with someone not related. Reus!”

“Yes, coach?” Marco called, stopping the ball that Mario had just passed to him.

“Switch with Thomas. I don’t want any of the siblings getting too comfortable. Ok, who is my odd man out?” Löw surveyed the pairs, looking for the one who would be left without a partner while Sami was running.

“Here coach,” Bastian answered, holding up his hand.

“Can he pair up with us? None of us play the same position,” Poldi asked.

“I suppose that will be fine. Everyone else looks fine, let’s get under way,” Löw said, blowing on his whistle.

“How are you doing, Nicola?” Marco asked as he jogged over, grabbing a ball on the way and passing it to me as we moved up the pitch to a relatively empty spot.

“Oh, you know me. I love ruining Thomas’ day, so this was basically fantastic. And you?” I responded.

“This day is starting to look up,” he answered, casually flicking the ball up so he could head it at me.

Before I knew it two hours had gone by and practice was nearly over. After our warm-up, Jogi had split us up into two teams and we played around for a while. If there had been any doubt that we girls would fit in with the team they were all forgotten. Jana was able to keep a clean sheet, Malina got a goal and Sophie and I both got assists. By the time Löw called us all in and allowed Khidera to stop running laps we were looking like a real team, and I was starting to feel confident about our chances.

“I am proud of you all. You were thrown a real curveball today and you handled it well. The girls are fitting in, we look like a team. Keep it up for tomorrow. Go hit the showers,” Jogi ordered and we all broke away.

“Who knew Thomas Müller’s little sister was also a force to be reckoned with. What is in the water at your house?” Marco asked me as we walked to the locker room.

“Nothing special, we both just love the game and happen to have found a way to play that utilizes the fact that we are not build like a typical footballer. We both work very hard,” I replied.

“You and I should get together sometime. I can learn some ball handling tricks from you. I’ll give you a call, Nicola,” Marco told me as we split up at the locker rooms.

“What was that all about?” Malina asked as she spun the dial on her locker.

“Nothing, Marco just wants to run drills sometime,” I answered.

“Sure he does. I say go for it. Let me know if you need to borrow something to wear when he asks you out,” Malina teased.

I knew she wasn’t being serious, but I couldn’t help wonder how I would react if Marco asked me out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you liked it, I have most of the next chapter written, so it should be up soon and I am going to start to set up the romantic story lines.


	3. Ain't No Party Like...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This is just fiction. I own nothing associated with the German National Team.

Nicola’s POV

“Thomas, the boys are here to help set up,” I called as the doorbell rang while Malina and I were finishing up getting ready for the team party that Thomas threw every year after the first practice of the season.

“So answer the door and let them in,” Thomas answered.

“Why can’t you?” I asked, shooting Malina a look.

“Come on, Nic, I am putting all the drinks on ice. Will you please let them in for me?” Thomas pleaded from the other room.

“Fine, I got it,” I grumbled as I put my lip gloss down, gave myself a once over in the mirror, adjusted the dark blue peasant top I was wearing, smoothed my white shorts, decided I looked good enough for the party, and ran to the door to open it.

“Hi guys, sorry about the wait, come on- Marco? What are you doing here?” I asked when I saw that along with the usual set up crew of Basti, Manu, and Mario, Marco was on the step.

“I am not going over this again,” Marco sighed as they all came in the house.

“We asked him the same question when he insisted on joining us, and he said he just wanted to help. Every single time we asked him. Whatever his real motive is he is not saying,” Mario answered.

“I am hurt, Sunny. I have no ulterior motive, I want to help set-up. Now can we please drop this?” Marco interjected.

“I have known you for our entire lives Marco and you have never been the guy who shows up early to help set up, you are the guy who is at least an hour late so that there is no chance you will be roped into helping. But I will drop it if you stop calling me Sunny in front of other people, Marcohan,” Mario replied.

“Deal,” Marco agreed.

“Great you guys are here, I need help moving the dining room table, and- Marco, what are you doing here?” Thomas asked, catching sight of the blond.

“Oh my god, any other question, please,” Marco groaned.

“He is not saying, but he is here to help. It sounds like the table is a job for you and the three guys you were planning on having to help, but you had an and before you got distracted, Marco, Malina, and I will take care of that,” I offered.

“I just need the chairs set up in the yard, you and Malina can take care of that and Marco can help with the table,” Thomas countered.

“No way, last time I help Nikki with the chairs she whacked me with the chairs. Marco can get hit in the head, I will help with the table,” Malina replied.

“It was not that bad,” I protested.

“We took out two chairs and you hit me three times, Nic. That is a bad enough ratio that I am never going anywhere near you and those chairs again. You and Marco have fun, but I am helping Thomas,” Malina stated firmly.

“Fine, let’s go, Marco,” I sighed, leading him out to the backyard.

We worked quietly and within a few minutes we were down to the last few chairs. I took the opportunity as we went back to the chair caddy to ask him, “So honestly, Marco. Why are you here so early to help set up?” I asked.

“Can’t a guy do a nice thing once in a while without being grilled about it?” he asked. In response I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow skeptically, so he hastily continued, “Fine, I had an ulterior motive. But can you really blame me for seeing a chance to spend more time with you and taking it?” Marco shrugged.

“What?” I asked, momentarily stunned.

“You look amazing, by the way. In case I don’t get the chance to tell you later,” Marco stated simply, like it wasn’t the same monumental moment to him that it was to me.

“Nikki,” he started, reaching out tentatively to grab my hand.

“Are you two done yet?” Malina asked from the doorway, destroying the delicate moment, causing us to jump apart guiltily, even though we both knew we had done nothing wrong.

“Almost, we will be in in a minute,” I called back. “We should finish up before Thomas comes looking for us.”

Sophie’s POV

“I’m not going,” I spoke into the phone.

“Soph, we have been over this,” Jana started. “I know you don’t do well with the social interaction thing, but you have to do it. It is just as important that you get along with these guys off the field too. I know that you never clicked with our last squad, but I think that had more to do with the fact that you don’t really care what you look like off the pitch and most girls, even Football girls, are in to that stuff. Boys are way easier, just stick to talking about Football and you will be fine. Now get dressed, let your hair down, and put on that awesome pink lip gloss we bought last week at the mall. I will be at your house in 5 minutes. Love you, bestie,” she finished and promptly hung up.

Six minutes later I was sitting on the porch when Jana pulled up. “Babe, that outfit should be ridiculous, and I will never know how you manage to pull stuff like that off, but you look amazing,” Jana laughed as I got into the car.

“What is wrong with my outfit?” I asked, looking down as she pulled away. My vintage football jersey and the pleated skirt Jana had made me buy because I might be invited to a party at some point looked good to me. The only fault I could potentially find in the outfit was my scuffed Doc Martins.

“You know, for a genius who sees and remembers everything, you don’t listen very well. There is nothing wrong with your outfit, but any other girl in that outfit looks like she is trying too hard. You look like you are about to walk a runway,” Jana clarified.

“So the laugh was not a bad thing?” I questioned.

“No, it wasn’t bad, Soph,” Jana replied.

“Ok,” I accepted.

We drove in silence for 8 minutes until Jana pulled onto Nikki’s street. “So you trust me, right?” Jana asked.

“I have found that to always leads to me doing something that tests that trust, but yes, I do trust you,” I replied.

“Good. So I was talking to Nikki and Mal and they agree with me that it isn’t going to do you any good if the three of us are by your side the whole night. It will make you feel like you are going to do something wrong or like we feel like you can’t interact with the guys and the guys are going to have to learn to not to be offended by your unique point of view. So we are going to see how you do without us hovering over your shoulder and let you try to find your place with the rest of the team the way you found your place with the three of us,” Jana informed me.

“And you have all decided that is wise?” I questioned as Jana parked the car across the street from the Müller residence and behind Neuer’s red VW.

“Yeah, we have,” Jana answered.

“Then I see no other option. Did you have someone in mind I should talk to?” I asked as we got out of the car.

“No, we figured we’d let you wing it, and if you need our help we would bail you out,” Jana answered as we walked up to the door.

“How will you know if I need your help?” I inquired as Jana opened the door without knocking.

“Trust me, we will know. Now, I am going to get some punch, you go talk to boys,” Jana ordered as we reached the end of the light blue hallway and she went into the kitchen.

The scene before me was chaotic and loud. Sami and Roman were talking in one corner of the room while Shkodran and Andre were next to the stereo, flipping through a pile of CD’s. Manuel, Bastian, Philipp, and Thomas were playing a racing game on the Xbox, with Malina, Mario, Lukas, and Per sitting around them watching. As I made my way toward the patio I passed the kitchen where I saw Jana talking to Mesut while Marco and Nikki were pulling a cookie sheet out of the oven.

As I stepped out onto the patio I saw the twins sitting in the corner, so I walked over. If I was being forced to talk to people, it might as well be people who socialized the same way I did.

“Hi Sven, hi Lars,” I greeted, nodding to each one in turn. “The other girls have decided that I am awkward and need to work on my people skills, so would you mind if I join you?” I asked.

“Yeah, take a seat,” Lars agreed with an amused smile.

“Thanks, Lars. Sven, is it ok with you as well?” I inquired.

“Oh, um, yes, that is fine with me,” Sven responded with a note of confusion in his voice.

As I was sitting down I noticed that they were seemingly having a conversation without speaking out loud. Lars looked disapproving while Sven kept looking at him as though he had a question he really wanted to ask. “I can leave if I am interrupting something,” I interjected.

“What?” Lars asked.

“You two are having a conversation in that way twins have without actually saying anything. If you need a minute I can go get some punch and then come back,” I offered.

“It is really nothing,” Lars started to insist but Sven cut him off.

“You can tell us apart,” the quieter twin stated and Lars shot him the disapproving look again.

“Yes, I can,” I agreed.

“I told you it wasn’t a guess,” Sven told Lars.

“How?” Lars asked with sudden curiosity.

“I have gone to school with you for 9 years and you are not as identical as other people have led you to believe, they just don’t look closely enough. I have been able to tell you apart since we were 5. Lars has a slightly crooked smile, Sven has a tiny dimple in his right cheek up near his cheek bone, Lars is a little more guarded, which is not uncommon for the dominant twin, and keeps his emotions to himself while Sven has more expressive eyes, plus Sven is a little taller and has slightly larger ears,” I answered simply.

“Hey, leave my ears out of this,” Sven protested bringing his hands up to shield his ears.

“I am sorry, I didn’t mean to make you self-conscious. I told Jana I am not good at socializing, but she didn’t listen and now this squad is going to hate me as much as my last squad did. I can leave if you want,” I offered, moving to stand.

“No, you can stay. I was just kidding. I forgot how literal you tend to be. Please stay,” Sven implored, placing a hand on my arm.

“Are you sure?” I asked tentatively. Sven nodded, so I sat back down. “Truth be told I may pay you both an unusual amount of attention,” I confessed.

“Why is that?” Sven asked.

“You know what it is like to not be accepted by everyone around you, the same way I do. But you two have each other so you always have someone who understands you. You have each other, and you don’t need anyone else, so you never get lonely when everyone else sees through you because there is always someone who sees you,” I explained.

“What would you want someone to see if they looked at you?” Lars asked.

“Someone who feels so deeply she doesn’t always know how to express it,” I answered.

“What are some of the ways you can express it?” Sven asked.

“I don’t think the words exist to tell you,” I started, getting out of the chair and holding my hand out. “But I can show you.”

Nicola’s POV:

“Jana, stop spying on Sophie, she is doing fine out there and if she sees you hovering, which she probably will because she sees everything, she will only feel like you think that she can’t do this. Now, would you like a cookie?” I asked, holding the plate of just cooled enough to eat cookies under her nose.

“Is that what you and Reus have been doing? Because making cookies and flirting sound very similar,” Jana teased, taking one of the warm treats with a wink.

“Oh stop, it was nothing. We are friends,” I tried to say without smiling from ear to ear.

Jana was about to respond, but a soft voice behind me spoke first. “Nikki?”

I turned to see Sophie behind me, followed closely by Sven. Lars was standing back in the doorway. “What’s up, Soph?” I asked.

“Can I use your piano?” the quiet girl inquired.

“Um, yeah, it is in the den,” I answered.

“Thank you,” she responded and walked out of the room, the Bender twins following in her wake.

“Can Sophie even play the piano?” I asked Jana.

“Honestly? I have no idea,” she replied.

We didn’t have to wait long for the answer, because before I could say anything else, the piano was competing with the music from the game room. And it was incredible. Jana and I moved toward the den as I heard the pop music being turned down.

As I stood in the doorway I could hear the rest of the team coming up behind us. Sophie was hunched over the piano, Sven sitting next to her on the bench, Lars standing behind them leaning against the wall. “Is that?” Thomas asked quietly.

“It is,” I agreed.

“What is it?” Andre asked.

“Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Summer. The Presto,” I explained softly, afraid to break the mood. Thomas and I knew it because it was one of our Mothers favorites, but I had never heard it played like this. It was haunting and beautiful and full of emotion. I was completely wrapped in the moment until I became aware of a new presence beside me. I turned my head slightly and saw Marco was enjoying the music as well. I wasn’t even sure he was aware that I was next to him, until near the end of the song he reached out and hooked one of his fingers in mine casually and my heart started beating so hard I thought it would leap out of my chest, but it didn’t matter because in that moment as the song ended we were connected.

Sophie’s POV:

I was breathing hard as I let the last notes trail away, feeling both euphoric and drained after trying to pour every emotion I had into that piece. I only remembered Sven when he whispered in my ear, “Thank you for letting me see you, Sophie.”

We both jumped when we heard a call of “Encore” from behind us, and I turned to see the whole team standing behind us clapping. I felt my cheeks flush in the same instant I felt my chest constrict and my heart start to race again, in an instant on my way to a full blown panic attack. Before I could even process what was happening to me, I heard Thomas shout, “Keep your hands to yourself!”

The crowd parted and turned away from me in time for me to see Thomas punch Marco in the face. The blond looked at Thomas in shock as he held his injured jaw. Nikki was shouting something at Thomas, getting between the two to keep them apart, but I couldn’t hear them over the rushing in my ears. I grabbed Sven’s arm to steady myself as I started to get dizzy.

“Sophie?” he asked.

“I am having a panic attack. I need to get out of here,” I gasped.

In an instant Sven had me up and was supporting my weight as he hastily led us out the door at the back of the room and into the side yard. He made me sit in the grass and put my head between my legs until I could breathe normally again, rubbing comforting circles on my back as I calmed down.

“Are you ok?” he asked me when I finally raised my head.

“I think I will be,” I answered.

“Is there anything you need?” he inquired.

“You don’t have to be nice to me because I had a meltdown,” I told him simply.

“That is not why I am being nice to you, Sophie Jens,” he responded.

“Then why?” I asked, looking at the grass between us.

“Because for years I have watched this girl who was beautiful but misunderstood and I have wanted to get to know who she really was. To find out if she was as beautiful on inside as she was out. Today I finally got to see that inside girl and do you know what I saw?” he questioned moving my chin up so that I was looking in his eyes.

“What?” I asked as he scooted closer to me.

“I saw that the beauty on the outside doesn’t even begin to compare to the beauty on the inside,” he answered, moving in slowly, eyes never once leaving mine. He stopped when he was close enough that I could feel his warm breath on my lips, his eyes questioning. I had barely nodded my consent before his lips were warm on mine, his hand moving to my cup my cheek reverently. For the second time in five minutes, my heart was racing, the only difference this time was that I didn’t care if it ever returned to normal.

A/N: Ok, let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!


	4. Little Müller

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party is over, but the conflict is just getting under way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own anything associated with the German NT. This is just for fun.

Nicola’s POV:

“I can’t believe my brother did that. What the hell is wrong with him? I mean, does he seriously expect me to never date anyone? I’m not a kid anymore,” I asked Jana and Malina as we kicked a ball around waiting for practice to start the day after the party.

“Did he explain why he did what he did?” Malina asked, passing the ball to Jana.

“I haven’t even been able to look at him yet, I am still too mad. Marco and I didn’t do anything at all, let alone anything wrong. There is nothing he can say to me that will make him punching Marco, his friend and team mate, ok Mal,” I insisted, bouncing the ball on my forehead before passing it to Malina.

“Have you talked to Reus about what happened?” Malina asked as she juggled the ball on each of her knees, before gently heading it toward me.

“I sent him a text, but he didn’t respond, not that I blame him. He got punched by my idiot brother for touching my pinky, I wouldn’t respond to me if I were him either,” I replied, kicking the ball a little harder than I meant to.

“Hey!” Malina protested, as she ducked, the ball sailing over her left shoulder. “What the hell, Nikki?”

“Sorry, I’ll go get it,” I offered, jogging off after the ball.

“Does this belong to you, Little Müller?” Poldi asked, holding out a football and rubbing the back of his head.

“Yeah, and I am so sorry that I hit you in the head that I am going to give you a free pass for calling me a name you know I hate,” I replied sheepishly, taking the ball from him.

“Sorry, Nikki. You should focus that anger on the game. If you can focus a shot like that, you will be unstoppable, just like your brother,” he spoke with a wide grin.

“About last night, I never got a chance to thank you for helping me separate them. That could have gotten out of control very quickly, but you pulling Marco away really helped. So thanks, Poldi,” I told him.

“I think we both know that you had it under control, but we are a team. When we work together, we are unstoppable. I didn’t want anything to happen that might compromise that. I’ve got your back, Nicola,” Poldi spoke with a wink.

“Don’t let Thomas see you wink at me, he might try to break your jaw, too,” I joked.

“Aha! You are funny, Little Müller,” he chuckled.

“I told you not to call me that. You should be careful, old man. Next time I might be aiming,” I called over my shoulder as I jogged back over to Malina and Jana.

“What are we looking at?” I asked when I reached them.

“That,” Malina replied, pointing to Sophie and one of the Bender twins.

“Oh. Is that Lars or Sven?” I asked, tucking the football under my arm and watching the two of them passing a ball back and forth to each other.

“I think it is Sven. He has had a thing for Soph since grade school,” Malina stated simply.

“Really? How do you know that?” I questioned.

“Just the way he looks at her. Like he really wants to talk to her, but he doesn’t know how,” Malina replied.

“Well he clearly found a way,” I remarked.

“She looks happy, doesn’t she?” Jana asked as we saw Sophie nutmeg Sven and him come up behind her and throw her over his shoulder in retaliation. Her laughter carried all the way across the field.

“Yeah, she does. Hm,” I said as a thought occurred to me, my eyes scanning the field.

“What?” Malina questioned.

“Where is Lars? I don’t think I have ever seen them apart, other than the couple of classes they don’t have together. I don’t see him,” I noted.

“There he is. Talking to Mario, Marco, and Manu,” Jana pointed out the blond.

My heart fluttered a bit when I saw Marco, but I grew concerned when I saw the bruise on his chin. I was about to head over and ask how he was when the whistle blew and practice started.

“I hope you all had a good night’s sleep, because you are going to need it. I was impressed with how good you all looked yesterday, so we are going to do basically the same thing today. Break into pairs for warm-up, same rules as yesterday,” Jogi ordered, blowing his whistle.

I was on my way over to Marco when Manu stepped into my path. “I was told I am supposed to partner with you,” he said cautiously.

“You are fucking kidding me. My brother is the most ridiculous person on the planet, no offense, Neuer,” I fumed, looking over and seeing Marco shrug as Mario pulled him away by the hand.

“Don’t be too hard on him, he means well. I think. I only agreed because it might be bad if your brother punches Marco again in front of Löw. So, what do you say? Partners?” Manu asked.

“Yeah, whatever,” I sighed, going to get a ball.

“Well, no wonder Marco is so into you. You really know how to make a guy feel special, Nikki,” Manu teased, ruffling my hair.

“I love Thomas, and I am trying really hard to go easy on him because I do know he means well, but I want to be taken seriously on this team and that is never going to happen if my brother keeps coddling me. I just want a chance to prove myself. What is so funny?” I asked the keeper when he chuckled.

“Nothing, it is just that you and Thomas are so alike. For half of the season last year all I heard from him was, ‘Manu they still think I am too skinny, I need to prove myself. I need them to take me seriously.’ That hunger is what kept Thomas sharp, why he fights so hard. And it is precisely why I don’t think you have anything to worry about, Little Müller. And if it makes a difference, you don’t need to prove anything to me. I will do anything I can to help, because we need you on our team. Your assist yesterday was beautiful and my hands are still stinging from that shot of yours I caught. What do you say?” he questioned.

“You know I might be more confident if people would stop calling me ‘Little Müller.’ It makes me think that everyone is comparing me to Thomas,” I grumbled.

“I suppose I could start calling you Nikki. We are team mates after all,” Manu laughed.

**

After warm-ups we split into teams again, and this time the girls were divided evenly amongst the squads. Everything was normal until Soph and I were pressing down field shortly after Sami had been subbed in for Christoph. I had just passed the ball back to her when Sami came up on her left and stripped the ball from her, knocking her to the ground in the process.

I heard a whistle blow as I ran over to check on her as she sat up. “Are you ok?” I asked, offering her a hand.

“Yeah, but watch out for him. That felt intentional,” she warned me as she straightened.

“You got it,” I agreed, looking over to see Löw holding up a yellow card.

About 20 minutes later the score was tied when Marco broke away with the ball. Mats was coming up on his left so Marco passed to me. I had just shot the ball at the net when I was suddenly knocked off of my feet, my shoulder taking the brunt of the fall and whacking my head on the ground hard enough to see black spots dance into my vision.

In between the blackness I could see Thomas and Marco yelling at Sami, trying to get past Mats and the Bender twins who were standing between them. I was vaguely aware of someone calling my name. I turned my head to see Jogi crouching over me, Malina just visible over his shoulder, chewing her fingernails. “Nicola, can you hear me?” Jogi asked, shining a light in my eyes.

“Did I score?” I asked him.

“You did. That was a very good shot, Nicola. How does your head feel?” he asked with a smile.

“It hurts. You should tell Mal to stop biting her fingernails. She doesn’t want me to beat her, does she?” I replied.

“We are having a competition to see who can stop biting our fingernails first,” Malina explained when Jogi shot her a look.

“Thomas and Marco are fighting again, Mal. At least they aren’t fighting each other this time. My shoulder hurts,” I spoke, my words slurring slightly as it became harder to focus.

“Don’t worry, we will get you fixed up, Nicola, just keep talking to me,” Jogi requested.

“That felt like a red card,” I joked as the blackness started to encroach again.

“I think you are right,” Jogi replied with a chuckle.

“I think I need to go see the nurse,” I said before blackness enveloped me.

Malina’s POV:

There was chaos on the field as Nikki’s head lolled over to the side as her eyes shut but it didn’t seem like she had been very aware of it. Thomas and Marco were still yelling at Sami, but seemed to have stopped fighting the guys holding them back.

“Nicola, stay with me. Nicola? Where the hell is that stretcher?” Löw yelled.

“Right here,” Julian called, running over with the board, the nurse behind him.

“I think she has a concussion and a dislocated shoulder,” he told the nurse.

“Ok, back up, let’s give her some room,” the nurse replied as she took Löw’s spot on the ground next to Nikki’s unconscious form.

I backed up as the nurse did her thing, my eyes meeting Jana’s. Her eyes were clouded and I could feel the anger seething under the surface. She felt the same way I did and she was hiding it about as well as I felt I was. This had been intentional, and it had nothing to do with the fact that Nikki was going to score. He hadn’t been that aggressive with any of the guys, not even the other new players on the team. It was because she was a girl. And that didn’t sit right with either of us.

“We are going to have to get her to the hospital,” the nurse announced. “She will need an x-ray and a CAT scan. I’ll call the ambulance.”

As I heard this, my eyes went to Thomas, who had stopped fighting and looked like he was deflating. My anger drained too as I saw this, but before I could go over to him I was distracted by Jana who was suddenly running toward Khedira. She was stalled by Özil and Andre who were having a hard time containing her until Bastian came over to help too.

I looked over at Khedira and saw that he was smirking at the sight of 3 guys struggling against one girl. Suddenly the anger that I had thought was gone bubbled up again, and I was moving towards him, when I saw Sophie dart by me. She was on Sami in a second and was pushing him backwards yelling, “What the hell is the matter with you? Why the hell are you smiling? She is your team mate, and she is about half your size. Why don’t you see if you can push me around, huh? You have no honor!”

I saw Lukas come up behind her and pull her away, with her struggling and shouting put me down until Sven went over to help him. Whatever Sven said caused her to stop fighting and she folded into him, sobbing on his shoulder while he supported her weight.

I was aware of a hand being placed on my shoulder, and I looked up to see Per was by my side. I raised an eyebrow at him, and he shrugged, “Just trying to make sure that you don’t do anything stupid. He deserves it, but I don’t want you to get kicked off the squad for defending your best friend. Besides, I like you better than him.”

At that moment, we heard a whistle blow and we all stopped and turned to Löw. “Thomas, grab you bag, you are going to the hospital with your sister, I just called your parents, they will meet both of you there. Practice is over for the day, Khedira I need to see you in my office, the rest of you are dismissed. I will see you tomorrow for practice.”

I felt laughter bubbling up in my throat at that and I couldn’t stop it. It spilled over and suddenly I was on the ground, just sitting there, laughing hysterically as Per sat next to me, rubbing circles on my back comfortingly and then pulling me into a hug as the laughter turned to tears. I didn’t even know why I was crying, but I felt betrayed. I had told Nikki that it would be fine, that the guys would accept us. And now she was on her way to the hospital.

“Are you ok?” he asked when the ambulance pulled away.

“No,” I croaked, wiping my eyes.

“Come on, I can drive you and Reus to the hospital. You’ll want to be there when she wakes up,” Per offered.

“Why are you being so nice to me? Clearly you guys don’t want us on this team,” I spat at him, glaring at his outstretched hand.

“I am going to give you a pass because you are upset, but look around this field. Nikki was like a little sister to most of us before she became our team mate. We take care of our own and Sami violated that today. He may not realize it yet, but he is not going to get away with this. Now, I am going to the hospital. Do you want a ride or not?” Per asked.

“Never again?” I asked him.

“Never,” he agreed.

I took his hand and he pulled me up. I wasn’t sure if he spoke for the whole team, but as far as allies go, Per was a pretty good one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thus begins the conflict. Let me know what you think.


	5. Tommy Make All Better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own anything you recognize, this is just for fun, I am making no money from this.

Thomas’ POV:

I am not great at compartmentalizing emotions. I am used to taking action and righting the wrongs in my life immediately. If the team is losing, I do my best to get the ball as close to the net as possible and try to figure out a way to get it past the goalie. When I am having a bad day I sit on the couch and watch something funny until I can’t help but smile. If I am dating someone who is having a bad day I leave a flower somewhere for her to find so she will have something to smile about. And even though I don’t like to advertise it, if someone picks on my little sister I make sure that they get itching powder in their gym shorts, or someone slips bubble solution in their soda when they aren’t looking.

So sitting here in this ambulance listening to my sisters’ heart monitor beeping while trying to stay as far out of the way of the paramedics as possible is like torture.  They keep using words I don’t understand but sound bad, like anoxia, hematoma, and sub clavicular. Even worse though are the ones that I do understand but don’t know the medical context for. I am trying to tune them out, but I keep hearing things like sluggish pupil reaction and it reminds me of when we were kids and Nikki scraped her knee or fell down and skinned her elbow. For years I was the only one who could make her stop crying when she hurt herself. She would wail at the top of her lungs until I came over and kissed whatever was hurting her, at which point she would stop immediately, look up at me, smile, and say, “Tommy make all better,” before running off to keep playing.

I feel tears pricking my eyes as I reach out and grab her hand, pressing my lips to it briefly. I hold her hand in both of my own as I close my eyes and say a silent prayer to any god that may be listening that she will get better, including some soccer gods for good measure.

I was just finishing my plea to Müller and Pele that she would wake up, when I heard her ask in a thick, slurred voice, “Tommy, why are you crying?”

“Don’t worry about me, Nic, I’m fine. How are you feeling?” I asked her as she took her hand from mine and clumsily wiped the tears from my cheeks.

“My head hurts, Thomas. And my shoulder. And my arm is tingly up near the shoulder,” she told me, her forehead wrinkling in confusion.

“Nicola, I need to you to answer some questions for me, can you do that?” one of the medics asked her.

“I will try, but my head is a little fuzzy right now,” Nikki admitted, looking worriedly at me.

“Don’t worry about that, just answer as completely as you can, there are no wrong answers. What is your full name?” The medic asked, while his partner shined a light in Nikki’s eyes.

“Nicola Marie Müller,” she responded. The medic looked to me for confirmation so I nodded my head.

“That is great, Nicola, I am Karl, it is nice to meet you. How old are you?” he asked, as he applied a blood pressure cuff to her injured arm.

“Fourteen,” she replied.

Again I nodded so Karl questioned, “Perfect, and do you know who the Chancellor is?”

“Angela Merkel,” Nikki answered as we pulled up outside the hospital.

“Lovely, you are doing well, Nikki. We are going to move you inside the hospital now, and this may be a bit painful, but we are going to be as careful as possible,” Karl told her as the ambulance doors opened.

“Is Tommy coming with us?” Nikki asked, taking my hand as the stretcher was maneuvered out of the ambulance, pulling me with her.

“He can come inside with us, but will have to stay in the waiting room until the doctor says it is ok for him to come back,” Karl informed her as a doctor came up.

“What do we have?” she asked, grabbing the IV bag from the other medic.

“Fourteen year old female, trauma to the head and shoulder after a bad football tackle. Dislocated left shoulder with upper arm numbness and localized low blood pressure, moderate to severe concussion, unconscious on the scene, but woke up en route, pupils are a little slow, speech mildly slurred, responsive to questions, mental clarity seems good, but she said she felt a little fuzzy,” Karl told the doctor.

“Great, get her on the gurney,” she ordered, turning to me. “I am Dr. Kendrik, I will be the attending on Nikki’s case as long as she is in the ER. You are her brother?”

“Yes, I’m Thomas,” I answered.

“Great, take a seat in the waiting room Thomas, call your parents if you haven’t yet, someone will let you know when we have an update on your sisters condition. Let’s move her to exam 2,” Dr. Kendrik instructed, as the Nikki’s hand slipped out of mine as she was wheeled away.

“Tommy?” Nikki asked.

“I have to wait here, Nic, I have to meet Mom and Dad, but I will see you soon,” I promised.

“Ok. See you soon,” Nikki called as the gurney disappeared behind a set of doors and a nurse led me to the waiting room.

When my parents arrived they quickly hugged me before going to the front desk to sign a bunch of paperwork, so I sat in the waiting room and watched numbly as it slowly filled up. The first group to arrive was Malina, Reus, and Mertesacker, followed closely by Jana, Sophie, and the Bender twins, all still in their sweaty practice clothes. Manu and Özil, followed by Poldi, Basti, Durm, and Mario. This continued until the entire team was in the waiting room, with the exception of Khedira and Weidenfeller. Coach Löw even showed up, but he went off immediately to find my parents and hasn’t come back yet.

The guys kept bringing me various snacks and beverages, but I wasn’t in the mood to eat or drink, so I placed all of them on the table in front of me. I was staring blankly at this mound of vending machine fare in front of me when Malina thrust a cup in front of my face and commanded, “Drink this.”

I took the cup from her as she sat next to me, and looked at her with a raised eyebrow as I realized what was in the cup. “Nikki told me that when you were kids Klaudia would make you mint tea when you guys were sad,” Malina shrugged.

The liquid was warm and comforting as it went down, making me realize that I hadn’t eaten anything since before practice. I was surveying the table when Malina dangled a cup of instant noodles in front of me. “You don’t have to take care of me, you know,” I told her as I eyed the cup.

“Please humor me. I am going crazy waiting for news and taking care of you gives me something distracting to do,” Malina replied.

I sighed as I took the cup and ate the soup. When I was done we sat in silence. After a few minutes I asked Malina, “Do you think she is going to be ok?”

“Yeah I think so, Nikki is tough. Do you remember 2 years ago, when she broke her wrist at the beginning of the second half of that game against that all girls Catholic school and refused to be subbed off, she just had them splint it with a shin guard and an ace bandage because that was all they had on hand? And then Klaudia yelled at her from the sidelines to get off the field and she just shouted back, ‘I’m fine Mom, I have to finish this.’ And then she was back at practice 2 days later. You Müllers are tough, that is for sure. Stubborn, too,” Malina told me.

“Stubborn how?” I asked cautiously, not liking where this was going.

“Your sister is not a baby anymore Thomas, and I think Reus likes her a lot. I know his reputation, but I have seen the way he looks at her and I have never seen him look at a girl like that. Would giving him a chance really be the worst thing? She is going to date eventually anyway; do you not trust her to make this decision on her own?” Malina asked me.

I was still thinking about that when Mom came into the room and walked over to my chair. “Thomas, the doctor just talked to your father and I and they think she is going to be fine. They reset her shoulder, and they want to keep her here for one night, maybe two, but they expect a full recovery. Your dad is in there with her now, but do you want to come back and see her? She was asking for you,” Mom told me.

“Yeah, let’s go. Um,” I hesitated as I stood up, looking at Malina then back at Mom.

“Of course Malina can come, Nikki will want to see her, too,” Mom replied.

“There is someone else who is going to want to see her. Can one more person come back with us?” I asked cautiously, almost hoping the answer would be no because of who I was asking for.

“I suppose just one more person can come back; she is a little doped up so we don’t want to overwhelm her, but that should be fine,” Mom told me.

“Great,” I sighed, deciding to get this over with before I could talk myself out of it. I took a deep breath the called, “Reus! We are going back to see her, do you want to come with us?”

“Really?” he asked, his voice hopeful but cautious.

“Look, I am trying to apologize for last night. You don’t want to give me a chance to change my mind,” I warned.

Marco jumped up and followed us as we silently made our way back to Nikki’s room. There were a lot of twists and turns but eventually we made it to Nikki’s room.

We were about to go in when the nurse stopped us. “There are too many people, you are going to have to wait until the people in there come out,” she told us.

“How many people can go in at once?” I asked.

“Two, and there are already 2 people in there,” she replied simply without looking up from the chart in her hand.

I poked my head around the door and saw that Dad and Coach Löw were sitting next to Nikki’s bed, talking to her.

A couple of minutes later they both came out and Coach said, “Well, I really do have to get going, Klaudia and Gerhard it was good to see you, thank you for letting me check in Nikki. I will see you three tomorrow.”

“Bye Coach,” Malina told him as he left. “So who wants to go first?”

“I was thinking you and I could go first, then Reus can go after,” I shrugged.

“Really?” Malina asked.

“I am trying so hard to be a good brother here and you guys are just not helping,” I told Malina, who took my arm and led me into the room.

Marco’s POV:

I am not sure what was happening. Last night I got punched by Thomas over Nikki, but today he is being almost cool about it. When Per came over to me and said that he was giving me and Malina a ride to the hospital I wasn’t sure that was a good idea. I hoped Thomas would come around to the idea of my dating his sister eventually, but I didn’t want to make this situation any worse. In the end Per didn’t take no for an answer, and Malina assured me that she would make sure Thomas didn’t give me a hard time. I still have no idea how I wound up standing outside her room, waiting for my turn to see her.

“Marco, it is good to see you,” Mr. Müller said as he noticed me.

“Hello, sir,” I replied, shaking his hand.

“I heard from Coach Löw that you seemed particularly protective of Nikki when she got hurt today,” he commented.

“Yes, sir, Nikki is a good friend of mine,” I responded.

“I suppose that if Nikki is going to have someone other than Thomas and the girls looking out for her on that team, I am not at all surprised it is you,” he mentioned.

“Sir?” I asked.

“Marco Reus you have been in love with my daughter since you were 5. All I ask is that you try not to break her heart,” he requested.

“I will do my best sir, as long as she will have me,” I promised.

“Good lad. I think it is your turn,” Mr. Müller noted, pointing to the room, where Thomas had just stood up and placed a kiss on his sister’s forehead.

“Hey Tommy?” Nikki called as he was halfway to the door.

“Yeah Nic?” Thomas asked, turning back to her.

“Tommy make all better,” she told him.

“I’ll do my best, little sis,” he replied as he left the room, Malina placing a hand comfortingly on his shoulder.

“Your turn, Reus,” Malina told me as they passed.

I walked into the room and sat down on the chair next to her bed. Nikki’s eyes were closed, so I tucked some hair behind her ear before taking her hand. Her eyes opened sluggishly and lit up when she saw me.

“Marco, you came to visit me,” she said.

“Of course I came to visit you,” I replied.

“Does Thomas know you are here?” Nikki asked me, lowering her voice like she was telling me a secret.

“Yes, Thomas knows I am here,” I told her.

“That’s good, I don’t want you to get hurt again because of me. Does it hurt?” she asked, motioning to the bruise on my jaw.

“I’m fine, don’t worry about this, it was worth it. How are you feeling?” I asked her.

“I feel great, my shoulder and head was hurting earlier, but I feel great now. I think they gave me something because I feel a little floaty and a little sleepy, but it doesn’t hurt. Does that make sense? I feel like I said too many words,” Nikki spoke with a slight slur to her words.

“No, you are fine. I am pretty sure that you are allowed to be silly when you are on morphine because some idiot tried to remove your arm from your body early in the day,” I replied as she let out a massive yawn. “Sleepy?”

“A little bit, yeah. Sorry,” she apologized.

“Don’t worry about it, you have had a rough day, what with the almost dying. I can go if you want to get some sleep,” I offered, moving to get up.

“No, don’t go. Stay with me until I fall asleep? I don’t think it will take long,” Nikki requested.

“Yeah, I can do that. Good night, silly girl,” I said, settling back into my chair, and moving a hand up to cup her cheek.

“Good night, Marco Reus,” Nikki repeated, closing her eyes as she moved her face closer to my palm. She fell asleep quickly, and I just sat there with her until a nurse came in to tell me that visiting hours were over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Ok, let me know what you think, I kind of wanted to give Marco and Nikki a cute moment even though she was pretty loopy. If you liked this let me know by sending me a comment.


	6. Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coach Loew has a discussion with the team about the whole situation with Sami

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I feel so bad that this took so long. I was completely stuck on how to write this until I realized that I could write it from Jogi’s POV.  
> Disclaimer: I don’t own anything, this is just for fun.

Coach Löw’s POV:

I stared grimly at my squad as they filed into the bleachers before practice, still in their street clothes. The sight of the girls sitting disbursed amongst the boys and not clumped together almost made me smile, until I remembered the one that was missing and the thought of my conversation with Khedira yesterday made my blood run like ice in my veins.

_“Sit down,” I ordered as I was shutting the door behind Khedira._

_“It was an accident, Coach. It won’t happen again,” the senior defender promised as he sat._

_“Mr. Khedira, do you have reservations about playing with girls on the team that I should be made aware of?” I asked him calmly._

_“What?” Khedira asked, clearly thrown by the question._

_“Concerns,” I rephrased. “Do you have concerns about playing with females on the team?”_

_“Honestly? Yes, I do. How are we supposed to be competitive with a bunch of skirts running around with us? They play a different brand of football and quite frankly it is a waste of my senior year to play with them. I am not going to learn anything from them. So what is the point of playing nice?” Khedira questioned._

_“So you decided to show them what they were in store for this season? Maybe if you push them hard enough they will quit the squad and you can have your boys club back,” I prompted._

_“Exactly. If they can’t handle a bit of clean contact they don’t deserve to be here. And if we have to play with girls then we can get tougher girls next time. Ones who can take a hit or two,” Khedira replied._

_“I have heard all I need to hear Khedira, you are off the squad. Clear out your locker when you leave for the day,” I ordered calmly as I turned away from him, pulling the player conduct binder out of my desk._

_“What? Why?” the young defender asked, confusion marking his tone._

_“I made it clear yesterday, the day you spent practice running laps, that these girls were on the squad if you wanted to play did I not?” I inquired. At his voiceless nod I continued, “And yet you still decided to take it upon yourself to flagrantly, and quite frankly illegally, foul two of those girls, one of whom is on her way to the hospital right now. More than that you seem to not care in the slightest and in fact seem proud of the fact that you could have ended someone’s life on my pitch.”_

_“But,” he stammered._

_“The fact that you seem to think that that hit could in any way be construed as clean is appalling. I have been watching you play for years, Khedira, and I have never once seen you commit such a blatant foul, let alone intentionally. Do you remember signing this form, Mr. Khedira?” I asked, flipping the binder open to a sheet bearing his signature._

_“Yes,” Khedira replied in a small voice._

_“Can you read this line here for me?” I asked, pointing a line in bold in the middle of the document._

_“_ As a member of this team I will not intentionally injure a fellow team member, on or off the pitch. Violations of this guideline can be grounds for immediate expulsion from said team based upon the discretion of the coach. _But coach you can’t do this. It is my senior year, I have to play,” Khedira pleaded._

_“Well then you should have thought of that before you decided you know what is better for this team than I do!” I shouted, the anger I had been barely containing bubbling up to the surface. “I have never in all my years as a coach had to actually inforce this rule and I am ashamed of the fact that I have to now for this reason. The biggest part of the reason we won anything last season has nothing to do with the fact that you are all great players and everything to do with the fact that you are all great players who work together as a team. If I can’t trust you to work within that structure, then I am sorry, but I have no room for you on this team. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go to the hospital to check on your former team mate.”_

_“You have not heard the last of this, Löw. You wait until my parents hear about this,” he threatened._

_“Is that some kind of challenge, Mr. Khedira? Because I am warning you right now it is not one you will win. I know you are mad about not being on the squad anymore, but you have no idea what you have just done. You are going to be lucky if her parents don’t press assault charges. By admitting to me that it was intentional you have opened a can of worms that I am not sure you will be able to close again. Do you understand that, Sami?” I asked, trying to reach the young man I have coached for years._

_“Quit trying to scare me to save your ass, Löw. It won’t work,” Khedira grumbled as he pushed his way out the door._

“To say I am disappointed by yesterday’s incident is an understatement,” I started as I addressed the group before me. “So I am just going to say this now and get it out of the way, Sami Khedira is off the squad. He signed a code of conduct that he violated and his continued presence would hinder the progress we are trying to make this season. I am not going to go into detail regarding what we discussed, with the exception of saying that these girls are the ones on this squad and I would sooner replace every boy before replacing a single one of these girls. There are girls who are tougher, there are girls who are bigger, and there may even be girls who are technically better.

“But I fought hard to get these girls because I feel they are the best for us. One of them is a keeper who kept as many clean sheets last year as Mr. Neuer. One of them is a defender who has a better pass completion rate than everyone on the squad with the exception of Mr. Lahm. One of them is a forward who scored more goals last season than anyone sitting before me right now. And one of them is a midfielder whose combined points and assists are only surpassed on this team by her brother. They were the best in their league last year.

“So I am going remind you again that we are ineligible to play this year without these girls. One of them has to be on the field for every minute of every game or we cannot play. It is as simple as that. Nikki will not be replaced, no matter how long she is out. Are there any questions about this?” I asked.

“I don’t have a question, exactly, but I would like to say something on behalf of the other captains. Well, with the exception of Khedira, of course,” Philipp spoke.

“The floor is yours, Mr. Lahm,” I encouraged.

“We know that we have only been teammates for 3 days, but we do consider you 4 a part of the team already, the majority of us at least. We have gone to school with all of you for years, we all grew up together, and we were at state semi-finals last year and watched the 4 of you essentially running the game despite the fact that your teammates didn’t seem to want to play with you. I remember thinking after that match what if they were on a team that actually worked with them instead of trying to cut them out of the match? Bottom line is we want you on the team, and in an effort to prove that to you, myself, Per, Manu, Bastian, and Lukas will not compete until Nikki is cleared to play. We know that Sami violated the bond between player and teammate and we want also want you to know that we disagree with him,” Philipp finished, addressing all of the girls.

“Does anyone agree with the captains?” I asked, addressing the group.

**

Nicola’s POV:

Here is the thing they don’t tell you often enough on those hospital shows on TV: being in the hospital is boring. You are stuck in a bed and you have wires attached to your arm, making something as simple as walking to the freaking bathroom a monumental task, which they won’t let you do on your own any way, instead offering you the choice of catheter or bed pan, neither of which has any dignity. At least I had my phone with me, so I could play games as a way of passing the time, but it turns out that bingo gets boring after an hour and anything that required 2 hands was not possible at the moment.

Thank god I was in a room by myself, because if I was in a shared room I think my roommate might object to me flipping through all 12 channels on the TV for an hour and a half out of sheer boredom. So when Thomas and Malina came in to my room behind a nurse with a wheelchair I almost jumped out of the bed with happiness.

“Where are we going?” I asked as the nurse helped me sit up and put my arm into a sling.

“Don’t get too excited, Nic, we are just taking you out to the garden.  You’re not still high, are you?” Malina joked, adjusting the flower tucked behind her ear.

“No, she is being very stubborn about her pain killers,” the nurse interjected as she helped me into the chair.

“Nikki, are you giving your nurses a hard time?” Thomas asked teasingly.

“No, I just don’t need as much as they think I do. Pain killers can slow down the healing process and I know how much pain I can handle, the nurses don’t. I want to get back to 100% as soon as possible so I can take my spot back before Jogi gives it away,” I replied as we got into the elevator.

“Coach isn’t going to give your spot away; he told us all as much at practice today,” Malina promised.

“But why would he do something like that? He doesn’t even know if I will want to come back to a team with Sami on it,” I pointed out as the elevator let us out at ground level.

“Well, that is also not an obstacle,” Malina said.

“Ok, seriously, what are you guys not telling me?” I asked as we emerged from the building.

“We will tell you later, but now there are some people who want to say hi to you,” Malina answered as we rounded a corner and saw most of the team sitting on the benches and rocks in the garden.

“There’s our rock star, how is your shoulder, Nikki?” Manu asked as they all crowded around.

“It is fine, I can’t wait to get back to practice though. This was probably the longest day of my life and it isn’t done yet. I am so happy to see you guys, though, thank you for coming out to see me,” I greeted.

“Please, you already knew you were an important part of this team. Why else would we sit out until you are fit enough to play with us?” Christoph asked.

“What?” I questioned, turning to look at Malina and Thomas.

“Oops. I guess you hadn’t told her that part yet. Didn’t she wonder why Weidenfeller quit? It wasn’t a solidarity thing for Sami getting kicked off the team,” Christoph remarked.

“What?” I repeated, looking back at the team.

“Dude, shut up, Christoph. I don’t you she wasn’t going to take this well, so we were going to have to ease her into it. What the hell, man?” Thomas asked.

“Ok, well I suggest that someone explain what is going on very quickly because I am supposed to be taking it easy and this is not easy,” I urged.

“Short story?” Marco asked, suddenly appearing on my left. “Sami is off the team for violating the team honor code. After Coach Löw explained his reasons for that, Fips stood up and said that the captains had decided that they were not going to play until you are able to play with us, as a show of solidarity for the girls to gain back your trust after Sami basically attacked you yesterday. We all thought it was a good idea and decided to do the same thing with the exception of Roman who decided that he had had enough with the girls in the league shenanigans and quit when Coach asked if anyone else had reservations about playing with you girls. Then we all changed for practice, so it has been a very eventful day for the team,” Marco joked.

“But I don’t want you guys to do that, what if I am not cleared until mid-season? We have a title to defend, you guys are being ridiculous,” I pointed out.

“Yes, we do. And the reason we are all doing this is because we know that if you were in our shoes you would do the exact same thing. Now can we please just have some fun? We all came out to see you,” Malina pointed out.

“I guess, what did you have in mind?” I asked, disgruntled but resigned to the fact that I didn’t really have a choice in the matter.

“Two man wheelchair races!” Jana replied, emerging from the crowd pushing Sophie in front of her in a chair.

“Oh, you two are going down, Marco is on my team,” I laughed despite myself. They may be completely ridiculous, but they were my team and deep down I knew that I would do the exact same thing for any of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: One more chapter down! I hope you guys enjoyed it, make sure to leave me kudos if you did, and if you really liked it you can leave me a comment. It is going to get a little fluffier soon and there will be a first date in the next chapter and I should have a one-shot up by the end of the week.


	7. Jogi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nikki gets in trouble with Coach Loew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I know I promised a first date in this chapter, but it will have to wait, it was getting too long, so it will be two parts.  
> Disclaimer: I don’t own anything you recognize, this is just for fun.

Nicola’s POV:

“What the hell are you doing, Nikki?” Thomas asked when he found me in the weight room running on the treadmill.

“Training. I have to keep my stamina up so that I can go right back to practice when I finally get cleared,” I explained with labored breath as the machine simulated a steep incline.

“Well, then you are taking a break. Come out to the field,” he requested.

“As soon as I am done. I have one more kilometer to go, and I am closing in on a personal best,” I replied, turning my focus back to my run, pushing through the burning in my legs.

“I don’t care, you are coming on to the field now, even if I have to carry you out there, kicking and screaming. You have already had your physical training session today, and it is reckless to push yourself like this when you don’t have someone here to make sure you are not doing further damage. Jostling your shoulder like that while running can’t be good for it,” Thomas pointed out.

“Thomas I am finishing my run, and there is nothing you can say to change that. I am not 5 anymore, and I have learned that I don’t have to do everything you ask me to do,” I fired back, my temper getting the best of me.

“Well then it is a good thing that he is not the one that is asking you to come out to the field. I am,” a deep voice spoke from the doorway.

I stumbled a bit at the sound of Jogi’s voice, but caught myself just before I fell. I heard Thomas muttering something about baby sisters and heart attacks as I positioned myself so I was standing on either side of the moving tread and started, “But Coach.”

“But nothing, Nicola. We both know this isn’t good for your shoulder, you have only been out of hospital for 3 weeks. You have two minutes to cool down and if you are not on that sideline exactly 2 minutes after I reach it I am sending the other girls to get you,” Jogi threatened, turning back around and pulling Thomas with him as I started the cool down and set 2 minutes on the timer. Thomas might not scare me, but Jana would drag me out by my ear while Malina berates me for being stupid and Sophie goes on about all of the complications and permanent damage I am risking by pushing myself. Now that is scary.

“Is that all of your stuff?” Jogi asked as I joined him on the bench a few minutes later.

“Yes, sir,” I replied.

“Did you shut the door behind you when you left?” he questioned.

“Yes, Coach,” I answered dejectedly.

“Good. I know you think I am punishing you, Nicola, but this is where you belong while you heal. Learning the plays you are going to have to execute, observing the rhythms of the guys so that you can slip back in when the time comes. You have a very good eye for this sport, and I am going need that if we are going win this season. I know you think I am going to cut you for not pulling your weight, or for being injured, but that is not the case. I promise I will do what I can to prove that to you if you promise me you will stop pushing yourself like this. You are going to heal faster if you rest,” he pointed out.

“I suppose you have a point,” I conceded.

“Good, because I have a job for you. Have you ever designed plays before?” he asked as he placed a large binder between us.

“Sort of. When Thomas and I used to play against each other in the back yard, I would imagine I had a full team backing me up and sort of create patterns for us to run in my head. I haven’t done that in years, though. Oh, and sometimes I give Sophie’s plays a once over and tweak them a little bit,” I shrugged with my right arm only, a skill I had finally managed to perfect.

“Great, because I want your help. I know that you feel like you are not pulling your weight, or you are not contributing, so I am hoping that allowing you to tweak some existing plays and creating some new ones will give you a way to contribute until you are healthy again. What do you say?” Jogi questioned hopefully.

“You know that it is cheating to look at me with those puppy eyes, right Jogi? But yes, I will do it. Anything for the team,” I agreed.

“That’s my girl. And as a bonus you didn’t call me sir or Coach. I missed being Jogi,” he mentioned, knocking my good shoulder.

“But you are my coach now. I do that as a sign of respect,” I pointed out.

“Nicola, I have known you for 10 years, since your brother came to me as a scrawny, uncoordinated kid who couldn’t find the net with a map and a guide. I have watched you grow up, I have celebrated holidays with your family, and you have even put me in my place a couple of times when you felt I wasn’t treating your brother fairly. You have called me Jogi too long to start calling me something more respectful now,” Jogi replied, ruffling my hair.

“Fine, I will stop calling you Coach, just stop messing with my hair. It might try to eat your hand,” I joked, ducking his hand and blowing the curls off of my face.

“I will keep that in mind,” he answered with a laugh, before turning his attention back to the field as I started flipping through the binder pages, glancing up at the field every so often.

“Ok, bring it in,” Jogi ordered an hour later after blowing the whistle to end practice.

“You guys did a great job today, we are starting to look like a real team, I know it is Friday night, so I will give you your notes on Monday before practice. One quick bit of housekeeping before I dismiss you, after finding Nicola in the weight room on the treadmill, I am going to lock it until she is cleared for all activity. I am going to assign keys to Messer’s Lahm, Mertesacker, Schweinsteiger, Neuer, Hummels, Höwedes, Özil, and Müller, along with Malina. I will have those for you on Monday as well, keep that in mind if you want to use the weight room, and anyone who lets Nicola into the weight room will have to organize the equipment room. That is it, have a good weekend, see you on Monday,” Jogi dismissed us.

“So do I need to even tell you how stupid it that was, or do you get the idea?” Malina asked as the girls converged on me after practice.

“No, I got the message loud and clear. Jogi gave me a project to do in my convalescence, to help me feel like I am contributing to the team. Speaking of, I could use your help, Soph, do you have any plans tonight?” I asked.

“No, sorry. Sven and I have plans to go see a movie and possibly to dinner. What is the project?” Sophie asked.

“Forget the project that will keep until tomorrow, are you and Sven finally going on your first date?” I asked.

“No, we have gone on several dates. I was at his house last night and we finished watching the first season of Alphas, which I enjoyed quite a bit, despite the scientific impossibilities,” Sophie insisted.

“Have you gone anywhere besides your two houses on your dates?” Jana asked.

“Not yet, that is what tonight is,” Sophie answered.

“That makes this your first date. Do you know what that means?” Malina asked.

“Sven has to get me flowers?” Sophie guessed.

“Nope. It means we are coming over to your house and to get you ready,” Malina informed her with a glint in her eye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Ok, I finished something. Thank you for reading, I will try to have a one-shot out by Friday, cross your fingers, but I had family come into town unexpectedly so I have to hang out with them. If you liked this chapter you can leave kudos or a comment and I will see you next time.


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